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Carolyn - Opening Blog

My interest in science was originally sparked by my 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Fullerton. She required each of her students to perform a science fair experiment. I have been doing science fair projects almost every year since then. I heard about this contest at the State Science Fair. I was encouraged to enter by my regional fair director.

This video was a step up from my previous creations. One new thing I did was use a green screen. Using new software, I was able to have multiple videos running simultaneously. I also used voice over in my video. These features were new to me and were sometimes frustrating when I couldn’t get them to work. In the end though, I am proud of the product I created.

Close to the time when finalists were to be announced, I anxiously and often checked the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge website. When my family left for vacation in Peru, nothing had been announced so I assumed that I wasn’t a finalist. I was rather disappointed, for I had worked hard on the video and thought the experience would have been incredible. When I returned, I had several e-mails and calls from 3M and Discovery Education. I very excitedly dialed the given number, and was elated to hear I was a finalist.

My parents are also thrilled. My grandma has a cousin who was a scientist at 3M. She cannot wait to tell him about me. I later contacted my regional fair directors, who have always been so supportive of me, and they, too, were delighted to hear that I was a finalist.